Sharing Writing Tips and Writerly Musings

Author Spotlight

–an award-winning poet and children book author, as well as a freelance writer and editor.

Readers! Let’s give a good hearty welcome to Emily Moore.

The many hats she wears include writer, editor, social media manager, student, mom, wife, and volunteer. She loves promotion, marketing, socializing, and getting behind a cause she believes in.

One such cause is supporting local businesses. Most people think this means local shops and farmers markets, but she’d like to encourage others to go beyond that. Check out local artwork, read local authors’ books, buy handmade products and crafts from friends with skills. She hired a young, budding artist to create the cover for ROWDY DAYS OF DOM SANDERS, and is excited to be a stepping stone in her artistic career.

She’s agreed to visit and share with us today some dreams, some advice, and some reading recommendations.

Emily, thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with bios and such, and while I’ll get to that as always, let’s start with the important stuff!

If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?

Though I’m not typically a reptilian lover, I would absolutely love to connect on a personal level with a dragon. A fire dragon. Or a water dragon… oh, wait, that’s one of my manuscripts in progress!.

What do you write and how did you get started?

I write the full spectrum of children literature, from picture books to young adult novels and series. They are forthcoming! For me, the urge to write stems from wanting to bring an experience to children that makes them feel less alone and hopeless in tough situations as well as bring joy to their lives. My children’s fiction lets them grapple with family dynamics, navigate shifting emotions and friendships, and focus on helping others and allowing kindness and forgiveness into their lives with fun, relatable stories.

I’ve been telling stories since I was young, which my mom caught on cassette tape. Lol. About ten years ago, my daughter started telling lies. I looked up what other cultures used to scare their kids straight, and from that research, my first manuscript developed. My love of writing flowed after that as I submerged into the writing community both close to home and online. I’ve been writing in several capacities since then.

I love that! Turning to stories in order to scare your kid straight! You’ll have to let us know if it worked!

What do you like to read?

Ah, my first love. Reading was an escape route from an emotional childhood. My true love is fantasy in all its forms. Especially retellings and embellished folk lore. Young adult and adult sci-fi also makes me really happy. Classic literature are another of my favorites, and historical fiction in the veins of Jane Austen or Gregory Philippa. Some non-fiction make it into my Goodreads account as well, usually about home, gardening, art, and parenting. I’ve read a few memoirs that I really enjoy, too.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.

“Write what you know.”

Write what you know. I love the research process and the daydreaming process even more that real life. Learning new things stretches your reality and your plotlines.

That’s awesome. My mother was a high school librarian, so was always happy and ready to help anyone with the research process.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can pry out of your cold, dead hands.

“Replace passive verbs with active verbs.”

My writing group jokingly calls me the passive-nazi. While it may offend some people, it’s sort of true.

There are probably more PC ways of saying that, but I totally understand. I know it’s especially nice to have a lot of active verbs in middle grade novels.

Shameless Self-Promotion time!

When twelve-year-old swindler Dom witnesses a cop’s murder and his boot prints land his bully Taylor in handcuffs, Dom must decide whether to swallow his guilt and let the jerk go to juvie, or take the stand and risk his own life by revealing the truth.

I’m an award-winning poet and children book author, as well as a freelance writer and editor. I lead my local chapter of the Idaho Writers League.

My shorter pieces have been featured in Hope Paige’s Anthology on loss BREAKING SAD in 2017 and AN OUNCE OF TRUTH, a fundraising anthology for a historic building.

When I’m not telling “Mommy Made stories” to my two daughters or awaiting feedback for my latest manuscript, I can be found off-roading on my four- wheeler, baking something scrumptious, or in a long, plot-refreshing bubble bath.

He’s a writer and YouTuber from the UK, currently studying for a Masters degree in creative writing. In the past, he’s written for film, radio, web series, a little TV. The self-published author of two children’s books and his latest book, VIRAL, (not recommended for young readers) which debuted February 7th and is for adult readers only.

He’s agreed to visit and share with us today some dreams, some advice, and some reading recommendations.

Mike, thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with bios and such, and while I’ll get to that as always, let’s start with the important stuff!

If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?

A Niffler would be a great pet – not only are they cute, but they also have a knack for stealing valuable things. Who wouldn’t want a cute creature which frequently brings you gold??

I also think cheetahs are awesome. If I could domesticate a cheetah without fearing it might eat the postman or something, I would definitely adopt one.

Well, I’m not sure what a niffler says about your moral code…but at least you don’t want a murderous pet. So, at least there’s that.

What do you write and how did you get started?

I have quite a colourful history when it comes to writing.

Back in 2003, I wrote a novel called The Man at Fourteen Winchester Drive, a sort of YA/NA novel about a man who befriends the creepy old guy next door. I self-published the book on a website called Great Unpublished (which later was bought by Amazon and sort of became CreateSpace), and it was so poorly produced if you opened the book too wide pages would fall out. It was incredibly rewarding to see all that work become a book I could hold in my hand, but I was a stupid teenager and I didn’t know what beta readers, editors or proofreaders were, so the book is littered with errors.

I’ve learned a lot since then, so my next self-publishing effort came about a decade later with The Secret Circle of Imaginary Friends and its sequel The Imaginary Friends and the Box of Desires. Both are MG books, and are some of my favourite things I’ve written – writing for younger audiences is so much fun.

That’s not to say I didn’t have an amazing time writing Viral, my latest, an adult humour novel with a few sci-fi elements. The book flew out of my fingers, and with the help of Unbound and some generous supporters, the book is now available to read on paperback and ebook.

I’ve never been prouder of a piece of work.

Wow, children’s books and books about…porn-based, computer viruses killing people. I like to mix up the ages of my audience, but I’m not sure I could pull it off!

What do you like to read?

Like with my writing, I read quite a wide variety as well. I love YA, I’ve recently been reading the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. I also love work by Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and J.K. Rowling.

Solid choices for any contemporary science-fiction, horror, or fantasy writer.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.

“Just write, then go back and edit later.”

Quite often I hear people telling writers not to edit along the way. This eats me up inside. If I’ve written something, then five minutes later I read it and decide that it’s terrible, then there’s no way I’m going to let it set there on the page being bad. I’m going to have to change it, reword it, develop it or cut it altogether.

Yes, you don’t want to get bogged down with the line edits whilst you’re still getting the story on the page, but you need to be producing the best possible work that you can.

I’ve read work from writers who have just blurted things out with no regard for how it reads, and I’d hate to be the one to have to go back and edit that.

Ha! I’m definitely one of those ‘just write’ people. But! I’m not a total pantser and I usually manage to actually use at least some of those paragraphs (or pages. Or chapters!), once they’ve been reworked.

SIDENOTE: My readers can’t tell, but I know. You’re also one of those people who HATE the Oxford comma. Luckily, on my blog, no one can see you skipping commas!

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can pry out of your cold, dead hands.

The knowledge that I am a writer.

So often you see people claiming, “I’m an aspiring writer.” Have you ever written something creatively?

Then you’re not an aspiring writer, you’re a writer! Take ‘aspiring’ out of your bio right now.

You may not be a professional, full-time writer (very few people are) but you are most definitely a writer. Embrace it!

Shameless Self-Promotion time!

Viral is my first adult novel, and it is out now!

It’s a funny, rude, exciting adventure through internet culture, memes, and viral videos. I wanted to write a book which continuously raises the stakes, and I think with Viral I’ve done just that!

Like this:

Today’s Author Spotlight is: Simon Graeme

– A dark fantasy writer and artist.

***

Simon Graeme

Readers, let’s welcome to my blog, Simon. A dark-fantasy writer and artist for well over twenty years. He has a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and was awarded an Honorable Mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest in 2015. In March 2018, he survived a stroke that spurred him to get his writing career back on track and actually start aiming for publication.

He’s agreed to visit and share with us today some dreams, some advice, and some reading recommendations.

Simon, thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with bios and such, and while I’ll get to that as always, let’s start with the important stuff!

If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?

I would kinda like to have a luck dragon. The Neverending Story was a big influence on me as a kid and Falkor was the shit. Part giant-pink-dog that could talk and a freakin’ dragon. Can we add cleaning up its poops to the no worries list?

I’m a huge fan as well. I realized last year that a- they were super cool and b – there was no reason NOT to add water-dragon-puppies to my world (inspired by Falkor), so I did.

What do you write and how did you get started?

I write fantasy and dabble in sci-fi but everything I write ends up with a touch of horror, hence claiming the genre dark fantasy.

I was twisted by likes of Clive Barker and Stephen King as a teen and grew up in a haunted house so it only makes sense that I would lean to the dark side. I was also a kid that was terrified of the dark (still am) and I had to have this strong sense that good would triumph over evil. You learn a lot about faith when you have to pray and keep a Bible on your bed at night just to be able to close your eyes long enough to sleep. I clung to the notion of guardian angels as a kid really hard. I think you can find all these influences in my work.

Over-active imaginations are good things for writers to have. But they are bad when paired with nyctophobia. I think I developed a curiosity about the dark and the things that hid there as a coping mechanism. That curiosity expanded into an obsession with the paranormal in my early adult life.

Perhaps my writing is a later stage of learning to cope with all that trauma. Who knows. I still struggle with one question: is it really fear of the dark if you live in a real haunted house?

I started writing in high school when I became obsessed with comic books and decided to create my own. I’m a decent artist but I’ve never mastered the comic book style. I did write backstories for all my characters and I really enjoyed that. It evolved into long-form prose in college but I didn’t get serious until my late 20s. I’m 42 now.

It took me five years to finish my first novel. It was a vampire horror novel that explored the question, “What monsters would vampires fear?” It was an interesting concept but total garbage, but it taught me a lot.

One piece of writing advice I always offer to newer writers is to get to work and write a shitty novel. Maybe the first one will be good but it’s doubtful. You’ll learn so much about your strengths and weaknesses as a writer that you will know what to work on.

Read read read about the craft. Any and everything you can get your hands on. I recommend screenwriters focused stuff for learning to plot effectively. Then go write a less shitty novel. Chances of this one being good are so much increased. If not, write more books. Pro tip: don’t self-publish any of the shitty ones. Just let them die. It’s harsh advice but the best thing for your writing development. I promise.

After the stroke, I decided to finish the last novel I was working on. I took it from 23k words in April to 105k in July. That book is my debut novel, Dark Lament and is the first book in The Black Crusade series. It is a dark fantasy novel in a fantasy setting loosely based on the crusades period of our world.

Great advice. If I didn’t love my first manuscript so much, I might even have followed it. But yeah, write progressively less-shitty novels seems pretty good advice to me. I’m sorry about your stroke, but yay for letting it remind you to focus on your goals.

What do you like to read?

I read a lot of non-fiction related to the business of indie publishing and the craft of writing. I’ve probably got fifty books on mythology and history. I enjoy reading about military structure and strategy throughout the ages and I think that shows up in my writing. Brian Lumley, a British horror writer, Stephen King, and Anne Rice were authors that I spent much of my twenties with.

I really enjoy Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Series, which has been renamed The Last Kingdom to match the Neflix series of the same name, (I really like that too).

I am intrigued by Patrick Rothfus and the Kingkiller Chronicles. He proves that voice and characters can a best seller make. I defy you to tell me the plot of Name of the Wind. You can’t. It doesn’t have one. But I’ve read that book three times and curse him daily for not getting the third book out there fast enough. There is a lesson here but I think it is only meant only for experienced writers, ones who have at least one shitty novel in the trunk.

A pretty solid list of books. My main complaint with the Kingkiller Chronicles is that he gave Kvoth Every Background Possible. Orphan, raised by gypsies, street orphan, child prodigy, musician, magician, teacher’s pet…

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.

I don’t accept that plotters and pantsers are all that different.

If you are to finish writing a decent book, which means multiple drafts and editing done, then you will have plotted at some point. It could be on the front end, middle, or after the first draft is finished. The drafting process is different but all writers plot before it’s done.

Also, those who outline heavily at the beginning almost always end up writing something different than planned by the end of the first draft. Characters worth having will always drag you off course. There will be plot holes you didn’t consider at first.

Besides imagination and drive for telling stories, I’ve learned that all writers have mad problem-solving skills in common. That’s the magic of writing a novel.

That’s fascinating! People always talk like those who plot are completely different people than those who pants. But, as a plantser, that’s my sweet-spot anyway, so I’m inclined to agree. 😉

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can’t pry out of your cold, dead hands.

Master the concepts of character, conflict, setting, and resolution (I add the fourth in there).

These are the keys to writing a compelling story.

When I’m developing a story idea it usually starts with setting. Fantasy and sci-fi both have to have a sense of awe or wonder about the setting. Then I develop conflicts for that setting. Dark Lament looks at religious conflict as it is loosely based on the Crusades Period.

Which leads to factions. Who are the major factions driving conflict for the setting?

Next, who in those factions has the most interesting story to tell? Following this, I will never have a story that is uninteresting to someone.

Lastly, the story has to have a satisfying resolution where all promises to the reader are paid off and all major plot threads tied together. You can leave some for the sequel if you do it well. I like to connect things mentioned earlier in the story to things that are now required to finish the story well.

Quality components, made for every story. From chapter books through historic tomes.

Shameless self-promotion.

My first book was just released onFeb 1st, 2019. It’s called Dark Lament and is the first book in The Black Crusade series. It is a dark fantasy novel in a fantasy setting loosely based on the crusades period of our world. You can find it here!

I also have a prequel short story out for free and plan to have book II of the series out by April. I’m writing it right now. There will also be a prequel novel out in April or May which goes back further than Scion of Darkness.

Please visit my webpage to get a free copy of Scion of Darkness, a short prequel to Dark Lament. It focuses on the characters of Baelen and Marten, when they were younger and tells the story of how they saved a child prophesied to be the doorway through which darkness will one day reclaim the world, the main character of Dark Lament.

Like this:

Today’s Author Spotlight is: P.M. Hernandez

– A writer of YA paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction!

***

P.M. Hernandez

Readers, let’s welcome to my blog, P.M. Hernandez. She lives in Virginia but travels the globe, finding inspiration in the colorful, mysterious, and sometimes spooky corners of it. Also, check out more about her writing at http://www.pmhernandez.com, and explore a a world where gargoyles take flight, aliens visit Earth, and magic is real.

She’s agreed to visit and share with us today some dreams, some advice, and some reading recommendations.

P.M., thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with bios and such, and while I’ll get to that, let’s start with the important stuff!

If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?

Definitely a dragon. You can ride them. They’re great protection. They excel at gathering and hoarding valuable objects. You’d save money on heating your house. What’s not to love?

You’re right in line with Zoe, from last week! I’ll just repeat my warning that I gave her. Many are sentient. Who would be the pet and who would be the owner?

What do you write and how did you get started?

I mostly write YA paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction. I say mostly because my editor told me my latest series is NOT young adult, or at least, only recommended for 16 and above. Who knew I could be so dark? Ha!

I got started the same way a lot of other authors did. I’ve been writing most of my life. Pretty sure my first book was for a middle school project. I wrote and illustrated a children’s book about a teddy bear. My first published book came out in 2016.

Exactly what I love and read. Now I’m curious about that teddy bear book. Is it available on Amazon? *winks*

What do you like to read?

I love anything paranormal, fantasy, or science fiction. That’s my jam. But sometimes, I break out into contemporary or historical fiction, or even non-fiction. I don’t discriminate, but I also am quick to set aside a book that isn’t thrilling me because my TBR pile is HUGE.

Doing something about my to-read pile is definitely something I’m working on this year. I’m not great at setting aside books, though. Maybe I should practice.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.

“Write what you know”

I have no idea who said it first, but clearly, that person didn’t write high fantasy. I’m willing to admit, though, that there’s a kernel of truth in it. All the best made-up stuff has a touch of the real world. Otherwise, how can we connect with it? So in that sense, we’re writing about what we know, just adding trolls and magic and whatnot.

Once again, you’re agreeing with last week’s author. AND! Giving the very same caveat I gave. In far fewer words. I’m right there with you.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can’t pry out of your cold, dead hands.

Writing is a lonely hobby.

Writing isn’t the solo affair we think it is. We need people, and not just friends or family who will lie to us and tell us everything we write is gold.

We need people in our lives who’ll tell us difficult things and help us get better at our craft. Some of your writing circle will eventually be friends; others will be professional contacts.

Never think you’ve arrived, that you can’t learn anything new; your writing tribe will help you be a continual learner.

Everyone is a resource.

As an ambi-vert who runs several writer support groups, I’m a huge fan of finding your support people. There surely are SOME people out there who do fine solo, I just don’t know any of them (which, I’m sure is the point).

Shameless self-promotion.

I have a new science fiction series coming out this year.

It’s kind of a departure for me. Dark and Bright is my take on Frankenstein, if the monster were a teenage girl and the doctor had access to modern tech. The book is available for pre-order now, and will come out on February 1.

Fortunately, if you like it, you won’t have to wait long!

Book two, Darkening Night, will release in May. Book three, Blazing Light, will release in late fall.

Both the Dark and Bright Series and the Whitewood Journals (YA paranormal) are in Kindle Unlimited.

Like this:

Today’s Author Spotlight is: Zoe Ashwood

Readers, let’s welcome to my blog, Zoe Ashwood, a translator by day, a romance writer by night, and a reader always. Her stories feature grumpy men, kickass heroines, and lots of kissing.

She’s agreed to visit and share with us today some dreams, some advice, and some reading recommendations.

Zoe, thanks for agreeing to be here today. Most interviews start off with bios and such, and while I’ll get to that, let’s start with the important stuff!

If you could have any pet (real/fantasy/no-allergies/no worries about feeding it) what would it be?

If I could have any pet, I’d have a dragon. No, seriously. It would cut down on travel time significantly, I could have it scare my enemies (or eat them if need arose), and also dragons are wicked smart, so I could learn loads.

As I am occasionally a BookWyrm, in all my red scaley dragon glory, I’ve gotta agree that Dragons are pretty awesome. Just be wary. Many are sentient. Would the dragon be the pet, or would you be ITS pet?

What do you write and how did you get started?

I write paranormal romance, though I have a couple of contemporary romances stashed deep in my computer. I used to write diaries and really bad teenage poetry, then sort of stopped when I was studying English at the university (go figure!), then started again after I’d been blogging about books for a couple of years. I participated in one NaNoWriMo and that was it!

I don’t write romance, but paranormal romance and I became good friends years ago. Except the studying English bit, that sounds like my background and entry into the writer’s life.

What do you like to read?

I read mostly romance and fantasy these days. I’m not particular about the genre of romance – paranormal, contemporary, historical, sci-fi, pretty much anything goes. I love fantasy for its endless creativity and imagination – I read both adult and YA books. Bonus points if there’s kissing involved! I also read a lot of children’s books because I have two kiddos (4 and 2 years old).

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that doesn’t work for you.

“Write what you know”

I don’t like “write what you know.” If that was a good piece of advice, fantasy wouldn’t exist. And the world would be a sad, sad place without fantasy.

I know I’m being literal, but in this day and age (ie the age of Wikipedia and Google), there’s really no limit to what you can write about. My research has included searches about black bear eating habits, revolvers, Canadian national parks, exsanguination times for arterial wounds, and NYC diners. I had zero to little knowledge about those, and yet I wrote books with those elements (the success of those books is still undetermined, haha).

Ah, this bit of advice is, by turns, both complete bull and the truest bit of advice. You might not know black bear menus and how long it takes to bleed out, but all of us are people. But. You write love stories and that’s something most of us want to be able to share with someone else. The events and settings might be beyond reality, but the people and the emotions behind the motivations are the same in your stories as they are for people you know in the real world.

Name one commonly accepted piece of writing advice that they can’t pry out of your cold, dead hands.

Outline your stories!

It’s a controversial topic, as not everyone’s brain works the same, but writing without an outline terrifies me. I tried it (for that first NaNoWriMo) and ended up with 50,000 useless words that had to be dumped. I’ve never been happier than when I realized I could prepare for writing beforehand. I write faster and cleaner drafts when my outlines are detailed.

I’m a plantser myself. My outlines are pretty loose and mostly ignored until I get stuck, but provide a good compass for when I’m starting out.

My debut novel, Trust the Wolfis out on January 24 – I hope you’ll give it a try! You can also find it on Goodreads. Here’s the blurb!

You never forget your first wolf.

Emilia’s first encounter with Jason is memorable: it’s not every day you see a stranger change into a wolf. Her attraction to him is undeniable, but the secret he shares shakes the foundations of her life.

Jason’s need for Emilia unnerves him. It’s his job to report shifters without proper ID, yet he can’t make himself do it this time. The decision bites him in the tail when he discovers exactly who she is. He must keep his distance—or there will be hell to pay.

Their fates entwine when rogue shifters learn of Emilia’s identity and will stop at nothing to get to her. Emilia and Jason will have to fight together or risk losing everything.

Like this:

Posts navigation

Morgan Hazelwood is a fantasy novelist who blogs about writing tips and writerly musings.
She likes taking pictures of the sky, reading a good book, and ambiverting from her living room. She's also a voice for the fairy-tale audio drama: Anansi Storytime and its sister podcast: Legendsmith.
She's been known to procrati-clean her whole house and alphabetize other people's bookshelves.